Special receptacle or package – For stationery or carbon paper
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-19
2001-09-11
Luong, Shian (Department: 3728)
Special receptacle or package
For stationery or carbon paper
C206S451000, C211S071010, C190S127000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06286668
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to carrying cases and storage systems, and, more specifically, to a flat article carrying case or portfolio and storage system utilizing the same.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Certain large flat articles, such as engineering drawings, prints, drawings and paintings prepared by artists, large photographs, large advertising layouts and the like, have generally not been simple to transport and/or store. Unless these articles were rolled up and placed inside cardboard or metallic tubes, any carrying case designed to carry such flat articles or materials were necessarily much thinner than they were wide or deep. As a result, portfolios and the like used for carrying such materials tended to be flexible. While such flexibility has not presented a serious problem in terms of transporting the articles, excessive bending of the carrying case could impart creases to the materials being carried and possibly damage the same, particularly if the articles being carried are not themselves flexible, such as mat board, canvases and the like.
Currently known portfolios are simply larger versions of smaller briefcases. However, exhibiting large sized flat articles or removing same from a case for display is typically inconvenient or difficult. Since the only way to view or to show the article carried in such a case is by removing the article from the case such large flat articles are sometimes difficult to handle and removal or repeated handling can result in damage. Most existing portfolios do not permit the display or partial display of a flat article, such as a drawing, without removing the drawing from the portfolio.
For the same reasons that large flat articles, of the type aforementioned, are difficult to transport and display, they are equally difficult to store. Generally, the portfolios used for carrying the articles are not used for storing them. Accordingly, such articles, as unwieldy as they may be to handle, must typically be removed from the portfolios and placed in an appropriate storage device, such as a large cabinet of drawers, each of the drawers of which must be sufficiently large to accept or receive the articles in a flat condition. Such cabinets, typically made of wood or metal, can be extremely costly. Of course, whenever the flat article needs to be transported it must be removed from the drawer into which it has been stored and transferred to the portfolio. Such movement of large articles between the storage system and the portfolio used for carrying the same, and vice versa, is generally inconvenient and time consuming, and may result in damage to the flat articles.
Flat portfolios or cases for storing and transporting flat stock materials, such as drawings or paintings, have been used for a long time by artists and draftsmen. U.S. Pat. No. 931,853 is one example of a flat case that can be used for this purpose.
Many flat cases frequently used by artists include handles to allow these cases to be carried about. Examples of such flat cases are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,175,070 to Maxwell, 4,061,224 to Fuhri and 4,852,725 to Folsom.
The portable easel device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,372,630 includes a carrying case with support legs for supporting the easel in the ground. A form of storage system or structure for detachably receiving at least one retaining board is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,508 to Thompson. Here the entire case or storage system is itself portable. When such case or stage system is on the ground, individual panels may be selectively removed, as best shown in FIG.
3
A.
Also known, also no patents are herein cited, are relatively wide file cabinets which have relatively thin drawers for storing flat drawings, such as engineering drawings. Such drawers, however, are normally not intended to be removed since they are very heavy and not really portable.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a flat article carrying case which does not have the disadvantages inherent in prior carrying cases.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a flat article carrying case which is simple in construction and economical to manufacture.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a flat article carrying case which is convenient and easy to use.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a flat article carrying case of the type aforementioned which can be used both for transporting flat articles, such as engineering drawings, paintings, drawings, advertising layouts, etc.; as well as display or at least partially display such articles without being removed from the carrying case.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a flat article carrying case as in the previous objects which is made of lightweight and sturdy materials which protects the flat articles carried therein both from bending as well as from the elements.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a storage system which can selectively store one or more of the carrying cases suggested in the previous objects so that the flat articles can be both transported and stored within the carrying cases, which become part of the storage system.
In order to a achieve the above objects, as well as others which will become evident hereinafter, a flat article carrying case in accordance with the present invention has a top and bottom, front and rear, and lateral s ides. Said top and bottom sides have width dimensions between said lateral sides and depth dimensions between said front and rear sides, which are substantial greater than the dimensions of said front, rear and lateral sides, between said top and bottom sides. At least said top side and said bottom sides are formed of a relatively thin, lightweight sheet material. A handle is provided on at least one of said front, rear or lateral sides for carrying the case. At least two elongate substantially parallel and rigid frame members are arranged along at least two of said front, rear and lateral sides of the case for stiffening the case and preventing twisting and warping of said top and bottom sides. Attachment means is providing for selectively attaching said sheet material forming said top and bottom sides to said frame members to permit opening of the case and provide access to the interior thereof to insert or remove flat article to and from the case.
A storage system for storing at least one carrying case of the type aforementioned includes support means which includes at least two spaced substantially horizontal brackets arranged in a common horizontal plane. At least one flat carrying case is provided, said rear side of such carrying case is provided with openings, aligned with said frame members, configured to receive said brackets to engage said frame members to thereby support the case on said brackets.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1768796 (1930-06-01), Trager
patent: 2086895 (1937-07-01), Cart
patent: 2159995 (1939-05-01), Lifton
patent: 4529069 (1985-07-01), March
patent: 4623111 (1986-11-01), Prader
patent: 4913283 (1990-04-01), Stuhn
patent: 5160001 (1992-11-01), Marceau
patent: 5566798 (1996-10-01), Tsai
patent: 5931373 (1999-08-01), Peleman
Lackenbach Siegel Marzullo Aronson & Greenspan P.C.
Luong Shian
LandOfFree
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